We're honored to have received an Innovator Award from Summit International's Emerging Media Awards (EMA) in the Real Estate/Neighborhood/Community Website
category for our re-brand of Linda May Properties. But the reason why we're proud to have received 'Innovator' might surprise you.

We're honored to have received an Innovator Award from Summit International's Emerging Media Awards (EMA) in the Real Estate/Neighborhood/Community Website
category for our re-brand of Linda May Properties. But the reason why we're proud to have received 'Innovator' might surprise you.

The Real Value of Receiving 'Innovator'

We enter these meritorious, international competitions frequently because we want our work reviewed by some of the world's best design, marketing, interactive media, and branding professionals. We also know that each of the major competitions has stringently high standards and that holding our work up to those standards impels us to grow. So this latest award is tangible proof that we're at the top of the best brand development firms out there. Our participation helps hold us accountable to our own high standards and to our clients. And that is extremely gratifying.

Summit's Emerging Media Awards are threefold: Visionary, Innovator and Leader. Winning Innovator is even more precious, given the fact that Summit's EMA 2014 included over 1200 entries from numerous countries, and that a mere 7% earned recognition.

"The Summit Emerging Media Awards (Summit EMA) evolved through a need to recognize and celebrate creativity, innovation and those pushing the bounds of creative excellence in all forms of emerging media," states the Summit International Awards website.

The EMA is open to marketers, coders, designers, developers, innovators, visionaries and leaders in the exciting realm of digital media. The EMA recognizes entries that introduce new methods and entrants who are thought leaders in emerging media and demonstrate excellence on the web via apps, videos, mobile sites and social media.

Summit provides the theatre for boutique firms to compete on a global stage with its international panel of judges and entries from all over the world. Judges-representing small, medium and large firms, and universities-hail from around the globe and are tops in their fields.

All said, this year we're planning to continue to submit our work to the major award entities for invaluable feedback and validation. Being solution-focused, we'd love to help you transform your challenges into opportunities. And who knows? Maybe the work we do for you will earn prestigious recognition.

We believe that the only way to predict the future is to create it. And at our core, we are an agency dedicated to the creation of positive change through strategic brand development.

We believe that the only way to predict the future is to create it. And at our core, we are an agency dedicated to the creation of positive change through strategic brand development.

In 2015, we want to find even more ways to bring positivity and success to our clients, specifically in the way of branding. Our approach to business design and brand building will include more diverse and intensive marketing strategies, bolder brand stories, and more personal digital experiences. Whether you are a start-up, consumer product, B2B enterprise, or a non-profit, branding affects how customers perceive and relate to your brand.

Our 4 Guiding Principles to Making Brands Work in 2015:

Sharing Compelling Brand Stories

When it comes to branding, one thing hasn't changed in decades, if not centuries of advertising: compelling brand stories are crucial to success. Growth takes strategy, and every strategy needs a compelling story to heighten emotion that results in a desired preference. We continue to strive to create wonderful, entertaining, inspiring and unforgettable brand stories for our clients with the use of top-notch copywriting, design, research, and technology that evokes emotion. So, as 2015 brings even more innovative and memorable digital advancements to the forefront of our culture, we will embrace them wholeheartedly for the good of ourselves and those who trust us to build and grow their brands.

Humanizing the Digital Experience

Our narrative continues to support the idea that branding and design is all about getting personal. Getting hands-on is always a challenge in this exciting digital age, but we plan to accept the challenge and come out on top. In a crowded marketplace, companies should always be looking for ways to connect emotionally with customers, and to become irreplaceable. We will focus closely on collaboration this year so that we can discover and utilize the best ideas from listening to our partners - not just hearing them. Some of the best ideas for our strategies synchronize a personal connection between consumers and our work. At the height of every campaign, we want to feel the satisfaction of knowing that we've sparked a real, positive emotional response in the hearts of our audience.

Mobilizing Brand Experience

Creative genius can strike on variety of wavelengths or devices, anywhere - anytime. Yes, it is totally possible, and we offer ourselves as proof. When you work with great clients like we do, it's easy to come up with awesome ideas day-in and day-out - but without the ability to share content and brand stories, what good are they? This year, we want to work our existing creative process into new, mobile-based strategies. The more, the merrier!

Design thinking is the search for the magical balance between business and art; structure and chaos; intuition and logic; concept and execution; playfulness and formality; and control and empowerment. It's all about creative ideas - and then knowing how to execute on them. We have the resources, the ideas and the knowledge. And this year we will continue to build powerful strategies that benefits both our clients and our team so that the question always remains, “That worked well! What’s next?”

Looking Ahead

Has your company evaluated its 2015 branding goals? When you collaborate with us, you'll be at the forefront of your industry when it comes to understanding and deciding when branding is needed, and if a rebranding is the best option. We want to help you create the new standardization in the midst of a creative ever-changing culture.

"It’s all about branding. No matter the challenge, our focus remains on brand development, strategy and execution. Each client came with its own set of challenges. The key was to take each client’s branding challenges and turn them into opportunities. These awards are a happy side effect of all the energy, enthusiasm and expertise we pour into the branding strategies we design for our clients."

— Armen David, Executive Director

Accuracy, Fairness and Credibility

From individuals to media conglomerates and Fortune 500 companies, the MarCom Awards is the largest of its kind in the world with over 6,000 entries each year. The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) provides the judges, who are known for their accuracy, fairness and credibility. Even professional organizations that run their own competitions enter their work in the MarCom Awards … quite a testament to MarCom’s reputation.

One notable difference about the MarCom Awards is that the application process does not require any written description of the project’s value by the entrants, because the judges want to base their perception of the creative excellence and value of the entry on the entry itself, rather than on the entrant’s imaginative description of the project’s value.

Judging Criteria: Quality, Creativity and Resourcefulness

With MarCom, the size and reputation of the entrants don’t matter, as the work is judged on its merit alone. The entry’s perceived budget is also taken into consideration by the judges. There’s something really thrilling about accomplishing a lot with less, rather than more, and the innovative use of resources at hand.

Judging takes place over an intense, two-month period in ‘judging rooms’ in Washington, D.C. and Dallas, Texas. The judges are senior-level, experienced marketing professionals who are either freelancers or have their own company.

It’s All About Brand Strategy

Linda May Properties’ branding challenge was that they’ve been Coldwell Banker’s top luxury real estate seller for years, which made them the primary target of their competition (and the competition’s increasing digital agility). Linda May Properties needed to refresh their brand in the minds and hearts of their existing and potential clienteles, and increase engagement with their audience. We were compelled to create an extraordinary “Live Your Luxury” experience for visitors to the website—the web videos we produced were of primary importance to this end.

Anoush Catering had a different sort of branding challenge, in that its sister company, LA Banquets, an event venue company, was well-known, but people didn’t realize that Anoush catered offsite events, too. Anoush needed to make sure their target audience understood the robust catering side of their business. Our approach included a visual focus on Anoush’s fusion fare, most of which is based on Mediterranean cuisine, and on their offsite venues.

Transforming Challenges to Golden Ops

We say, “Bring it on!” No matter what your branding challenge may be, there is a powerful solution. We’ll take that challenge head on and turn it into an opportunity for your brand identity to convey you clearly and engagingly … that positions you to be as good as you truly are … and that compels your targets to take action. We’d be honored to help you meet your branding challenges for a stronger brand position.

Winning the Davey Awards’ Silver for Visual Appeal is thrilling, but the visual appeal of our “Live Your Luxury” campaign for Linda May Properties — a top 1% international luxury real estate team in Beverly Hills—is only the tip of the branding-berg. Nine-tenths of the campaign lies is in its cohesive strategy, designed to compel people to feel Linda May Properties expertise within the luxury real estate industry, along with their personalized care and “always on” mentality.

Winning the Davey Awards’ Silver for Visual Appeal is thrilling, but the visual appeal of our “Live Your Luxury” campaign for Linda May Properties — a top 1% international luxury real estate team in Beverly Hills—is only the tip of the branding-berg. Nine-tenths of the campaign lies is in its cohesive strategy, designed to compel people to feel Linda May Properties expertise within the luxury real estate industry, along with their personalized care and “always on” mentality.

The Largest and Most Prestigious Awards Competition for the “Davids” of Creativity

In its 10th year, the Davey Awards honors the best Web, Design, Video, Advertising and Mobile from small firms worldwide. The advertising and interactive agencies that entered their creative in the Davey Awards cannot exceed $25 million in annual billings.

"David defeated the giant Goliath with a big idea and a little rock - the sort of thing small firms do each year. The annual International Davey Awards honors the achievements of the ‘Creative Davids’ who derive their strength from big ideas, rather than stratospheric budgets."

The Davey is sanctioned and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA), an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms. AIVA members include executives from organizations such as Condé Nast, Disney, GE, Keller Crescent, Microsoft, Monster.com, MTV, Push., Publicis, Sesame Workshops, The Marketing Store, Worktank, Yahoo! and many more.

The judges evaluate the distinctiveness of each entrants’ creative and awards both gold and silver in each the different categories.

"Visual Appeal is a new website category for the Davey Awards, and we’re honored that Linda May Properties’ website was awarded the Silver. When developing Linda May’s brand strategy, it was imperative that their ‘Live Your Luxury’ campaign include a web presence that was as visually luxurious and appealing as the homes Linda May Properties showcases. We developed the client’s verbal brand identity for bold and impactful messaging to cohere with the visual appeal, in order to enhance the customer experience and compel them to act."

— Armen David, Executive Director

One Big Idea and a Little Rock

The Davey Awards statuette—approximately one foot tall and 5 pounds—is custom-designed and handcrafted to represent a modern interpretation of the David and Goliath story icons, a fitting tribute to the accomplishment of all of the Davey winners. As Davey Awards states, “One big idea and a little rock” can fearlessly slay a giant brand identity challenge.

In the case of our campaign for Linda May Properties, the giant we had to slay was that their sustained success ‘inspired’ the competition to step up its game. Linda May Properties needed to remain visible and audible to their existing clients, and get and hold the attention of their potential clients, in the digital realm. If you’re facing a giant (or three), let us know how we can help.

We’re exceptionally proud to have earned W3 Awards’ (http://www.w3award.com) Silver for Creative Excellence on the Web for Silver for the videos we produced as part of our integrated branding campaign for Coldwell Bankers Realtors® Linda May Properties (http://www.lindamay.com/philosophy), a top 1% international luxury real estate team located in Beverly Hills.

We’re exceptionally proud to have earned W3 Awards’ Silver for Creative Excellence on the Web for Silver for the videos we produced as part of our integrated branding campaign for Coldwell Bankers Realtors® Linda May Properties, a top 1% international luxury real estate team located in Beverly Hills.

"Having our work recognized by the W3 Awards is the next best thing to getting results for our client. Winning the Silver is marketplace affirmation that we are producing engaging, intelligent work that converges strategy, technology, and creative to accomplish something greater - and better results.”

— Armen David, Executive Director

The W3 judged the videos on content, technical execution, implementation and overall experience.

W3 Levels the Playing Field

When it comes to the W3 Awards, size doesn’t matter. The W³ is the first major web competition to be accessible to the biggest agencies, the smallest firms, and everyone in between. Small firms are as likely to win as Fortune 500 companies and international agencies.

Sanctioned and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA), W3 judges derive from this elite group of professionals from the acclaimed media, interactive, advertising and marketing worlds. For example, AIVA members include executives from AgencyNet, AvatarLabs, Big Spaceship, Block Media, Conde Nast, Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Fry Hammond Barr, Microsoft, MTV Networks, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sotheby's Institute of Art, Wired, Yahoo! and many others. Simply put, the judges are highly qualified, which makes winning all the more significant.

The Challenge

The big challenge with branding Linda May Properties was that their success inspires the competition. They’ve been in the top 1% of Coldwell Bankers Realtors® internationally for the last 28 years. With the rise of social networking and heightened web presence, competing teams were beginning to implement a variety of technologies to enhance their brand exposure locally and internationally. Linda May Properties needed an integrated, well-defined campaign - one that superseded those of the competition, in order to establish new clientele and cultivate long-term relationships with their existing clients.

The Key to Our Client’s Success Led Us to the Solution

Linda May Properties’ team, where each member plays a strategic role in ensuring a smooth process from client inquiry to beyond the close of escrow, is their key differentiator. People buy from people and if there is an entire team of experts working on the client’s behalf as there is with Linda May Properties, all the better.

To position their brand, we created videos that introduced their core team of experts with complete transparency. It was this transparency that painted an instantly embraceable picture of their unwavering customer care, personalized attention to detail, highest ethics and legal understanding, and unparalleled strategic marketing expertise in the field of luxury real estate.

This transparency personalized the real estate experience, imprinting Linda May Properties’ brand in the hearts and minds of their target market and winning us W³’s Silver for Creative Excellence on the Web.

All successful marketing initiatives begin with a comprehensive brand strategy focused on customer experience, which is why Linda May Properties’ brand identity has been so successful. In addition to earning W³’s Silver for Creative Excellence on the Web, our “Live Your Luxury” campaign for Linda May Properties won the 2014 Interactive Media Award’s™ Best In Class. in the Real Estate category.

We’re deeply honored to have won Summit International Awards’ Platinum for Marketing Effectiveness in the website category for our branding of Anoush Catering, Southern California’s premier Mediterranean caterer.

We’re deeply honored to have won Summit International Awards’ Platinum for Marketing Effectiveness in the website category for our branding of Anoush Catering, Southern California’s premier Mediterranean caterer.

Beyond the Ordinary to the Extraordinary

Summit International Awards (SIA) was created to honor agencies that have have exceeded the usual fare to create something truly impactful. SIA is one of the oldest and most prestigious organizations to administer marketing awards, and uses stringent evaluation criteria with blind judging processes.

In the end, one thing mattered: Did the creative successfully influence, change or reinforce the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of the target audience? The Marketing Effectiveness Award judges weighed the strength of the big idea and the creative approach. They also took into account the strategic planning used to overcome barriers and how the creative execution of the website moved the audience closer to action.

The Challenge

For the past 27 years, Anoush Catering has been known as the place to package your catering and venue needs without being recognized for their international, Mediterranean-inspired food. This challenge limited the Anoush business model from flourishing as a catering company outside of it’s sister company, LA Banquets (previously known as ‘Anoush Banquet Halls’). With the rise of LA Banquets, Anoush needed a well-defined catering brand and positioning to establish a new clientele outside of their venue business.

The Opportunity

With the introduction of it’s sister company L.A. Banquets, Anoush discovered an opportunity to maximize their catering business by repositioning Anoush as a qualified catering company that can serve as a wedding venue or banquet hall, as well as partner exclusively with off-site venues.

The Solution

Our focus was on establishing the Anoush brand as a premier, full-service catering company for large-scale events and to highlight Along their exceptional partnerships with notable venues across Southern California.

The strategy was to present Anoush’s credibility and recognition as a leader in providing quality food and event services. We also needed to highlight the Mediterranean culture, without alienating a mainstream audience. We embraced Anoush’s values as a family-owned business and their family-centered culture brand. Lastly, we needed to convey Anoush’s vibrant personality and vivify employee, chef and partner engagement.

Anoush Catering’s website had to satisfy two criteria. First, it had to function as an online lead generation tool. To do this, we had to simplify the user’s experience in order to get them to contact Anoush as quickly as possible. The second, was to illustrate the Anoush story and reinforce the brand culture.

Well-Earned Platinum

We’re grateful for organizations like Summit International Awards. Their rigorous standards elevate the industry and promote innovation.

“The enormous challenge which Anoush faced, along with the dedication of our team to finding a solution, makes receiving this award even sweeter. Anoush Catering was the perfect submission for the SIA competition because it exemplifies the power of brand strategy and execution.”

— Armen David, Executive Director

The importance of brand development and strategy is so often overlooked but, in the case of Anoush Catering, strategic rebranding with business objectives overcame an enormous obstacle to expanding their business.

We feel extremely honored to have won the 2014 Interactive Media Award’s™ Best In Class Real Estate category for the website and video created for Linda May Properties. Entries were judged by an impressive lineup of IMC members and submissions were scored for their usability, feature functionality, content, aesthetics, and cross-browser compatibility. The Best In Class title is only awarded to contenders that receive a close to perfect score on every scale.

We feel extremely honored to have won the 2014 Interactive Media Award’s™ Best In Class Real Estate category for the website and video created for Linda May Properties. Entries were judged by an impressive lineup of IMC members and submissions were scored for their usability, feature functionality, content, aesthetics, and cross-browser compatibility. The Best In Class title is only awarded to contenders that receive a close to perfect score on every scale.

IMC is a nonprofit organization founded by leading web professionals in New York City. Their mission is to promote the best practices and push the leading edge in website design, application development, usability engineering, privacy protection, e-commerce security, accessibility, standards, advertising, publishing, and corporate communications.

“Interactive Media Awards™ recognize the highest standards of excellence in website design and development and honor individuals and organizations for outstanding achievement.”

— Interactive Media Awards

Recognition Begins With Our Clients

Consistently ranked in the top 1% of Coldwell Banker Realtors® internationally, Linda May Properties needed to distinguish and exude their luxury brand of pristine standards, well-earned credentials, extraordinary experience, and unparalleled customer care. Linda May and her business partner, Guy Levy, asked us to develop a rebranding campaign that showcases their reputation as preeminent luxury real estate specialists. From understanding their target market to storyboards to messaging, we developed the campaign Live Your Luxury which was adapted to their digital and traditional media touchpoints.

“The real estate market is saturated – we wanted to draw attention to the fact that their team is more than luxury real estate brokers; they’re strategists who meticulously link the right buyer with an extraordinary property. “How do you live your luxury?” and “What does ‘luxury’ mean to the people in your market?” was the forefront of our thinking. ”

— Armen David, Executive Director

Every effort you make to communicate with your market either enhances or dulls their perception of your brand. In order for your company’s identity to stand out across all media platforms, an intentional and cohesive campaign is needed.

For Linda May Properties, we saw the website as “home base” for the Live Your Luxury campaign. This platform would best convey their team’s distinction, prominent name in real estate, and encourages interaction with its growing global audience. Utilizing a clean, media-centric layout, our team strategized to develop and produce a branded video series that communicated the team’s unique client-broker process – or as Linda May herself referrers to it – their philosophy.

Recognition Valued

The Best In Class Interactive Media Award™ is living proof that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Linda May Properties, our team of professionals, and the IMC with its high standards of professionalism, converged to create something truly impactful.

Client satisfaction is our gold standard, but earning notoriety in a competitive award category, feels one of a kind. We are honored to be a recipient of The Gold Award by Hermes Creative Awards as voted by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.

Client satisfaction is our gold standard, but earning notoriety in a competitive award category, feels one of a kind. We are honored to be a recipient of The Gold Award by Hermes Creative Awards as voted by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.

One Dress A Day is an online clothing retailer that aims to help foster better fashion decisions at a faster pace by releasing one new, unique dress each day of the year on its website. The award recognizes our work with One Dress A Day to create a digital advertisement upon the company launched in 2013. We created the concept and design for the advertisement with One Dress A Day’s goals in mind to successfully launch the brand, stand out to viewers on websites, and drive traffic to the new site. As the featured advertisement on People.com, our advertisement exceeded traffic expectations and sign-ups on the teaser-site. These web leads created the initial user-base and equipped One Dress A Day with the opportunity to further "win" the loyalty for their brand growth.

The Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals recognizing outstanding work in concept, writing, design, and media. It’s awards also focuses on those in the industry working to promote the philanthropic nature of marketing and communications. Several thousand marketing, public relations, advertising, communications, and media professionals make up the Association of Marketing and Communication Professional who viewed and judged over 5,500 entries to the 2014 competition.

The start of 2014 brought a wave of accomplishments at STARMEN. We’re happy to share that we’ve won two Telly Awards, in the Best Promotional Branding and Cause Marketing categories.

The start of 2014 brought a wave of accomplishments at STARMEN. We’re happy to share that we’ve won two Telly Awards, in the Best Promotional Branding and Cause Marketing categories.

The Telly Awards competition prides itself on dedication to creative excellence. Now in its 35th year, the Tellys embrace an atypical judging process. Entries do not compete against one another, but instead are evaluated on their creative merit. The judging panel consists of members from the Silver Telly Council, a distinguished group of media professionals dedicated to upholding the fundamentals on which the competition was established. And another detail that appealed to us? The winner statuettes are designed by the same firm that manufactures the Oscars and Emmys.

We were thrilled to learn that our Discover Your Path Video Discover Your Path Videowon two bronze trophies this year. The trophies were for Best Promotional Branding and Cause Marketing categories.

When it comes to getting your brands message across to a lot of people, most jump to the first thought: “we need a lot of money.” Why do you need a lot of money? “To do something really cool.”

Today, not the case. Brands are moving and moving fast. Your content is being seen on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, and wherever else Google can find in a simple search. Most of it, your brand isn’t even producing. So your message is now being retold by your customers, and remember it’s not what you say your brand is, but what they say your brand is.

Photo credit: Adweek.com

When it comes to getting your brands message across to a lot of people, most jump to the first thought: “we need a lot of money.” Why do you need a lot of money? “To do something really cool.”

Today, not the case. Brands are moving and moving fast. Your content is being seen on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, and wherever else Google can find in a simple search. Most of it, your brand isn’t even producing. So your message is now being retold by your customers, and remember it’s not what you say your brand is, but what they say your brand is.

While it might be scary to have others relaying your message, it seems as of late, there are huge wins to it. The great part about this beautifully integrated world is that anyone can make content and it doesn’t have to cost thousands. Let’s look at the crowdsourcing king, Doritos, who created a contest around their Super Bowl spot. The brand created a win-win situation for them that allows them to spend small and win big, cutting production costs entirely and paying only for airtime. Also, they tapped into a much larger pool of creatives than they could ever afford to hire.

Most recently we are seeing commercials being produced such as Chevy’s Oscar spot that was at $4000 production costs. A cheap and simple idea, taken to match the viewership of the Oscars, and it was a huge success for the brand. Or if we want to look at the ultimate example of spend less, win big, is the independently produced Tesla commercial at a cost of $1,500. For a brand that dreams big and does not spend money in advertising, recent college grads took it into their hands to make a commercial that Tesla and their CEO loved.

It’s tough to let go sometimes and let the ones who know you best to take the wheel, but look at it this way: you no longer have to spend thousands to get in the picture. An evolving and innovative generation is taking what they have and producing content at the highest of quality for a low cost. While it might be tough, embrace it.

Creating award-winning work is always our goal here at STARMEN, but when two of our clients, Hampton Inn and Discover Your Path, each earned a distinguished accolade in the Interactive Media Awards we were particularly excited. Both organizations launched a revitalized website to highlight their refreshed brand identity, and we’re so glad to have been involved.

Creating award-winning work is always our goal here at STARMEN, but when two of our clients, Hampton Inn and Discover Your Path, each earned a distinguished accolade in the Interactive Media Awards we were particularly excited. Both organizations launched a revitalized website to highlight their refreshed brand identity, and we’re so glad to have been involved.

Check in at Hampton Inn

When Hampton Inn approached us about redesigning their website, we wanted to assess their objectives, and take those into consideration during the design process. The goal was to create a microsite linking to Hilton’s booking system that would increase online bookings and enhance their digital presence. The new site aimed to distinguish the Sherman Oaks location as a unique destination by highlighting local attractions and using bold hotel imagery.

We utilized a clean layout with easy navigationto let potentialguests easily find the information they were looking for. And to help people get a feel for the Hampton experience, we added photo galleries for all room types and amenities. We then took it a step further and incorporated interactive toursfor every room so users can enjoy a virtual 360 before even checking in.We’re thrilled that the new site earned the Outstanding Achievement Award for Travel/ Tourism by the IMAs!

Discovering yourself with DYP

When faced with adversity, what’s the best thing to do? According to former Olympian contender Heather Hennessy Howell and Dodgers pitcher JP Howell, you should stay positive and use strength to overcome life’s obstacles. The duo each triumphed over some incredibly difficult personal challenges, which inspired them to form Discover Your Path. DYP encourages youth to achieve their goals by making good decisions and staying focused.

Heather and JP wanted to share their journeys in a highly visual way, so we produced a branded video that lets users “Discover DYP.” Along with the video, we rolled out PathPacks, a kit with Tshirts, journals and other swag with daily reminders to remain on a positive path toward everlasting happiness. The website also features tools to help kids get involved and connect with each other’s stories. The rebranded website earnedDYP the Best in Class title in the IMA Charity category!

Congratulations to Hampton Inn and Discover Your Path on these prestigious achievements!

There was no question that our team would table key resolutions during our new year kick-off meeting. What made this year particularly interesting is that we decided to take it a step further and go public! Some may call it a risk but hey, we like risks that have a team of winners supporting them on every level. To show our commitment, we wanted to share our top 5 resolutions with you.

Read Our Top 5 Resolutions!

There was no question that our team would table key resolutions during our new year kick-off meeting. What made this year particularly interesting is that we decided to take it a step further and go public! Some may call it a risk but hey, we like risks that have a team of winners supporting them on every level. To show our commitment, we wanted to share our top 5 resolutions with you.

#1 - Up The Talent

Of course, we're grateful to have a diverse team - last year's awards reinforced that. Our creative, strategic and digital marketing expertise produced work that not only surpassed expectations, but more importantly, created a lasting impression on our agency. What we do is rewarding! To better serve your shifting needs while staying in-sync with varying industry trends, we’re expanding our network by hand-selecting additional and specialized skill-sets. This ultimately allows us to scale our team to fit your greater and long-term goals.

#2 - Pursue the "Why?"

Say adios to the days where an attractive design alone produces long term results. It’s counterproductive to invest time (and money!) producing creative pieces that look great but lack sustainability. We want to build on our portfolio of success and push ourselves to deliver work that not only looks great, but accomplishes the pressing goals for our partners. Luckily there is a simple question that entices this way of approaching business. The "why" is now at the forefront of our decision-making. While continuing to launch successfully executed campaigns, we’ll challenge ourselves with the "why” to produce meaningful work.

#3 - Be Selective

We don't want to date our clients. While our business once operated project to project like the dating world, we now crave longstanding partnerships. Doing so empowers us to grow with your team, become invested in your brand and tackle greater challenges. With this new outlook, we’re able to be selective with the clients that we take on. Let's face it… great relationships gel well and share a similar vision. It's a wonderful feeling when both teams are excited to enter a meeting knowing it will exceed the 1-hour block on their calendar. If that isn't love, we're not sure what is.

#4 - Go Broad. Stay Focused.

With multichannel marketing, it's impossible to declare a "secret-sauce" solution that works for your brand or company. It’s imperative to respect the process and determine which strategies will prove successful as part of your broader cohesive marketing effort. We take accountability for your success in every channel by analyzing the metrics and implementing solutions based on performance. Love is in the details - and data! This year we've heightened our attention to metrics in order to make the best recommendations for your brand.

#5 - Employ Siri

Might sound overly ambitious, but we want to hire that sassy robotic little minx. Half of her responses are helpful, and half mirror a sarcastic teenager that you want to discipline for being disrespectful. But, we like her attitude. She’s got spunk. Here’s the challenge — we can’t confirm her current employer. She won’t give us references. She dodges questions about her salary requirements. It’s a shame, because we’re diversifying our team and would love to appoint her as our Director of Market Research. Although this promise seems far-fetched, we've already got her to share with us her favorite Hollywood branding agency.

As 2013 comes to an end, we wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make it our best year yet. Amidst lots of exciting changes, we owe gratitude to the people who were a part of the company evolution - our clients and internal team. We look forward to welcoming in the new year together and wish you and your loved ones a Happy Holiday!

As 2013 comes to an end, we wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make it our best year yet. Amidst lots of exciting changes, we owe gratitude to the people who were a part of the company evolution - our clients and internal team. We look forward to welcoming in the new year together and wish you and your loved ones a Happy Holiday!

As part of the renowned Hilton Hotels brand, Hampton Inn wanted a unique website that would help distinguish them from other hotels and increase online visibility. We designed and developed a microsite that linked to Hilton’s booking system and highlighted the hotel’s local attractions, complete with new photo galleries and interactive 360 virtual tours.

When Minus Zero set out to refresh their brand identity, one element we had to include on their new website homepage was a video to immediately inform users about the company mission and vision. The video needed to support the brand ideology of “Leaving Nothing to Chance” so we incorporated a few key clips of CEO Sabastian Huynh with poignant imagery and audio.

A leading manufacturer of camera bags, Tamrac approached us for a refreshed website, which would easily guide photographers through the purchasing decision. We built a customized platform with an interactive product catalog, dealer locater, and dealer login resource center. The result was a visually inspiring experience, and one we’re proud of.

We are so grateful for everyone on our team who made these award-winning projects come to life and of course, none of it would be possible without our amazing clients, who continue to push us to do our best!

Armen David was working at his father’s Sun Valley shoe manufacturing business when he hired his friend Anthony Wiktor to help design the company’s brochures and fliers. David quickly decided the two should branch out and start their own marketing firm, STARMEN Design Group Inc. in Hollywood. They sold their services to family and friends – even door to door – mostly designing business cards and direct mail. Then one day, only three months in, they got a call...

Armen David was working at his father’s Sun Valley shoe manufacturing business when he hired his friend Anthony Wiktor to help design the company’s brochures and fliers. David quickly decided the two should branch out and start their own marketing firm, STARMEN Design Group Inc. in Hollywood.They sold their services to family and friends – even door to door – mostly designing business cards and direct mail. Then one day, only three months in, they got a call from Malcolm Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He found them on a Google search and hired them to design a brochure promoting luxury suites at the home stadium. Suddenly, STARMEN was a real business. “I was like, ‘Really? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are calling us? Do they even know who we are?’ ” Wiktor said. “Keep in mind we were like 23 and 24 years old. … We were young kids.”

Not kids anymore.

That was in 2006. Today, the firm has grown to a staff of six and an extended team of 16 collaborators. STARMEN increased the size of its office space on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a four-story building from 750 square feet to 2,000. The firm has worked on projects for DirecTV, HBO Inc. and Hampton Inn & Suites. Clients include consumer tech brand, Adonit in Austin, Texas, and Discover Your Path Foundation, a charity run by Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher J.P. Howell and his wife, Heather Hennessy. STARMEN signed a new client last week, a social lifestyle app. But the novices had to learn some fine points of the business along the way.

And the learning continues.

Six months ago they walked into a pitch unprepared. A major clothing brand wanted to launch a creative campaign to promote a new celebrity-endorsed fashion line. The brand wanted to get its merchandise into high-end retailers such as Nordstrom Inc. STARMEN was competing against three other larger agencies and Wiktor and David presented three different creative campaigns aimed at consumers. When the people at the brand asked how they planned to get the product into retail locations, they had no response. They hadn’t prepared a strategy to appeal to retailers. “We just didn’t consider it or didn’t think of it,” David said. “We gave them three different concepts and they were well received but they just saw us as a creative agency, not one that could speak business, marketing and creative.” So now, instead of helping potential clients create a website and charging them a fixed rate, the firm works on clients’ long-term goals for a monthly retainer. “After that experience, I started to refuse project business,” David said. “It has helped us be seen as an agency versus a design shop or production house.”

He kept his day job at his dad’s business, Reflection Shoes, at the beginning. “STARMEN was something that I started on the side,” he said. “For about a year, I juggled both STARMEN and the family business …because I wasn’t sure where STARMEN was going to go or what it was going to become.” His original plan was to create a marketing department at Reflection. But when he started working with Wiktor, he realized they could market other brands, too. “I felt limited,” David said. “It really appealed to me to have this entity called STARMEN that can strictly focus on getting brands to that next level.” Glazer of the Buccaneers called because STARMEN popped up first when he did a Google search. Wiktor said they were paying Google Inc. $100 a month for prime position in search results. Also, Glazer liked the design of their website.

Even then, STARMEN was a graphic design firm in its first few years, strictly selling services instead of developing repeat business. Wiktor kept his day job at the L.A. office of Sotheby’s International Realty until 2007. “It’s not like we were making tons of money,” Wiktor said. “At one point, I was going door to door selling our services, and I thought, ‘You know what? This is not really what I want to do.' " David said that the firm’s challenge is now to scale up. Jerry McGee, at the L.A. office of New York-based American Association of Advertising Agencies, said that’s the biggest challenge for any small agency. “That’s the dream that all agencies have is being hired on a partnership basis for a more involved relationship that isn’t an endless sales cycle, to be constantly pitching,” said McGee. “You have to know what you do well, what your core strength is and leverage that against what you think your opportunities are.” David said he can be pickier about what kind of business the firm accepts. “We’re more stable now,” he said. “We’re not off trying to get the next project we definitely have more confidence in telling clients this is how it should be done, this is our work and this is our minimum.”

Whether you're driving to work, flipping through the radio, surfing the web, or watching the latest Breaking Bad, it's impossible to escape a barrage of advertisements.

They're everywhere- billboards, bus stops, park benches, FM airwaves, the top of your computer screen, and in between your favorite shows. With such an overwhelming amount of ads whizzing by us, it's become increasingly more difficult to "cut through the clutter."

So what's the solution? Keep reading for more...

Whether you're driving to work, flipping through the radio, surfing the web, or watching the latest Breaking Bad, it's impossible to escape a barrage of advertisements.

They're everywhere- billboards, bus stops, park benches, FM airwaves, the top of your computer screen, and in between your favorite shows. With such an overwhelming amount of ads whizzing by us, it's become increasingly more difficult to "cut through the clutter."

So what's the solution? Create a memorable ad. Push the envelope. Be edgy. Say something risqué. Come up with a clever tagline. But sometimes taking a risk can backfire and the result is a campaign that totally misses the mark and ends up offending those whom it was aiming to target (cue the CEO apology and PR-repair-mode). There's certainly no shortage of cringe-worthy advertisements that make you wonder if anyone gave more than a cursory glance at their campaign's message.

Last week, Apple debuted the much-anticipated iPhone 5c. The website homepage has kept true to form with a clean layout, large imagery and options to watch the keynote or learn more. But one tagline in particular caught our eye:

"For the colorful."

The phrase is paired with a rotating green, blue, yellow, or white background. Although Apple would likely defend their choice of words and insist that the message was intended for creative types and for those who “think outside the box,” it's difficult to interpret this verbiage without acknowledging the racial undertones. Though Apple would never deliberately offend their customers, it would have been wise to think twice about utilizing an expression that could potentially alienate those who have been loyal to the brand (and notice how the silver iPhone 5s has a tagline of “Forward thinking.” No room for racial misinterpretation there!). Even an unintentional marketing message faux-pas can stir up unwanted controversy.

But Apple is certainly not alone in creating questionable campaigns. Countless other brands have committed marketing mishaps and landed in the proverbial "What were they thinking?!" hot seat. Here are our Top 5 wince-inducing campaigns that make us want to hide behind the whiteboard:

In an epic advertisement failure, Renault launched a campaign stating, “For ten days, we can’t use the N-word,” meaning that their dealerships were instructed to avoid saying “no.” Obviously Renault aimed to grab people’s attention, but the execution was distasteful and the ad was pulled soon after it launched.

We understand that McDonalds wanted to appeal to a younger audience, but using sexually suggestive slang was tacky. The campaign ended up being mocked and parodied by those it was striving to target, and left a bad taste in customers’ mouths

A great way to guarantee a media backlash is to tug on viewers’ heartstrings, then cheapen the sentiment. Actor Timothy Hutton talks about the Tibetan culture being in jeopardy, and yet they’re still able to whip up an “amazing fish curry,” which he discovered through using a Groupon at Chicago-based Himalayan Restaurant. The blatant exploitation caused a firestorm of negativity for weeks and months following its Superbowl airing.

A Belvedere employee made the very uncouth decision to post this ad on Twitter featuring an image of a wide-eyed woman trying to escape the grip of a man with the tagline, “Unlike some people, Belvedere goes down smoothly.” The woman, a Los Angeles actress and voiceover artist, sued Belvedere for emotional distress and unlicensed use of her image.

Ashton Kutcher with a bad accent and painted brown skin = recipe for disaster. Introducing himself as “Raj,” a Bollywood producer, Kutcher says he’s looking for the most delicious thing on the planet, “like Kardashian hot,” and shows us a couple awkward dance moves. The video leaves us wondering how this idea was green lit, and how this even relates to Popchips. Pass the Kettle chips.

Since our office is located in Hollywood, we're aware that you don't always need an excuse to party. But sometimes you have a solid reason to celebrate, and here at STARMEN, we certainly do.

After scoring over 12 design awards this year, we wanted to pause and thank the people who made it all possible- our clients and creative team. Their support allows us to do what we love and take risks. To show our appreciation, we hosted a private event for a night of Re/VISION - a chance to celebrate the past and preview our future with the people who matter most.

Keep reading to see our remodeled office.

Since our office is located in Hollywood, we're aware that you don't always need an excuse to party. But sometimes you have a solid reason to celebrate, and here at STARMEN, we certainly do.

After scoring over 12 design awards this year, we wanted to pause and thank the people who made it all possible- our clients and creative team. Their support allows us to do what we love and take risks. To show our appreciation, we hosted a private event for a night of Re/VISION - a chance to celebrate the past and preview our future with the people who matter most.

A New Office. A New Vision.

In addition to honoring our clients and team, we were excited to enjoy our recently remodeled office. We wanted to complement the historic features of our building by incorporating some classic Hollywood elements into the decor. Since the area has such a rich history and background, we needed to reach out to the people who know this best - the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. They put us in touch with a company that dug through their archives to unearth the perfect photos for our walls. Originally shot back in 1923, these images were scanned at a high resolution to create custom black and white landscapes. The aerial view of the Hollywoodland sign brings you back in time, and we have no doubt that Harry Chandler, the LA Times publisher who built the sign, would be proud to see his work displayed on our lobby wall. Though the sign was a $21,000 billboard for Chandler's real estate development and has since evolved in both appearance and meaning, its iconic message will always remain: "This is a place where magic is possible, where dreams can come true."

It's All About the Details.

As a design agency, we believe love is in the details. Some of our favorite details in the office are ones that adorn the lobby. And most of them are functional, in addition to being unique. The vintage Vista 500 tube radio that sits among our bookshelves provides an ambiance that hasn't been felt for over 50 years. The new acoustic gramophone also radiates tunes as an iPad is nested inside (a great blend of vintage and modern technology). Our 1920s cash register did likely function at one point, but now collects glances, instead of cash, and weighs a lot more than you would guess (that wood is incredibly solid). An old typewriter reminds us that instead of typing away on our smooth iMacs, our relatives once used those bold, bulky keys for communication.

Before and After, You Won't Believe It!

During construction, we knocked down the wall to our neighboring suite and created a fresh and open floor plan, complete with a new lobby and lounge area, creative lab and meeting room.

As our team here at STARMEN grows, so does our awards list; we recently received 2 trophies from the 19th Annual Summit Awards.

This year, the Summit Awards received entries from over 50 countries across 5 continents. The competition is geared toward smaller and mid-size agencies that produce great work but are normally overshadowed by large companies with significant budgets. The Summit Awards gives smaller agencies a chance to earn some deserved recognition among their industry peers.

As our team here at STARMEN grows, so does our awards list; we recently received 2 trophies from the 19th Annual Summit Awards.

This year, the Summit Awards received entries from over 50 countries across 5 continents. The competition is geared toward smaller and mid-size agencies that produce great work but are normally overshadowed by large companies with significant budgets. The Summit Awards gives smaller agencies a chance to earn some deserved recognition among their industry peers.

Minus Zero recently approached us to redesign and rebrand their online presence. In addition to refreshing their identity, we developed, filmed, and edited a video to be featured on their new website homepage. The video introduces users to the company’s CEO, Sabastian Hunyh, and gives a brief overview about Minus Zero.

Our objective for the video was to create a story-driven piece that would help define the brand and engage users on the new website. We steered clear of the dry “corporate” video feel and instead captured the essence of their new identity: passionate, exuberant, and results oriented. The executives we were targeting don’t merely sit behind desks—they embrace a sports-like mentality, love taking risks, and are design-oriented.

To showcase these attributes, we incorporated a few key points from their “Leaving Nothing to Chance” brand platform and combined them with bold images, clips, and audio. The result was a visually-rich portrait of Minus Zero that we’re proud of, and it marks our first award for video production!

Silver Award - Entertainment Website

DirecTV - Roguemedia.tv Microsite

When DirecTV launched their first television series, Rogue, they wanted a digital press kit that would give users a behind-the-scenes look at photos, cast/crew bios, and full episodes. We created a microsite to match the dark and ominous tone of the show using a “skeuomorphic” approach with textures like paperclips, manila folders, and wood. DirecTV also wanted the site to be viewable from mobile devices, so we implemented an adaptive design with a custom content management system. See the work here.

Just as everyone figured out the mechanics of SEO, everything changed. Here's what you need to know.

Google and other search engines have been updating the way they find the best results for queries. As the biggest name in the game, Google has pioneered the way with two major algorithm updates: Panda and Penguin.

What was once acceptable can now destroy a business’ reputation. Under the changes, websites are being punished for catering to the search engine instead of to their audience’s wants and needs. Overall, Panda and Penguin target websites that churn out thin content, spam backlinks, practice keyword stuffing or hidden text, steal content, and enact a number of other frowned upon SEO techniques.

The Panda and Penguin updates give the illusion that Google is making big changes in the digital realm, but in reality these updates are just part of a larger trend. Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, and the increasing popularity of handheld devices have changed the way people find, share, and discuss information. To stay relevant, businesses need to publish interesting content regularly and share it through social media. By doing so, the same businesses will also find that Google’s new rules for SEO will be met naturally. And, that is exactly the goal.

Just as everyone figured out the mechanics of SEO, everything changed. Here's what you need to know.

Google and other search engines have been updating the way they find the best results for queries. As the biggest name in the game, Google has pioneered the way with two major algorithm updates: Panda and Penguin.

What was once acceptable can now destroy a business’ reputation. Under the changes, websites are being punished for catering to the search engine instead of to their audience’s wants and needs. Overall, Panda and Penguin target websites that churn out thin content, spam backlinks, practice keyword stuffing or hidden text, steal content, and enact a number of other frowned upon SEO techniques.

The Panda and Penguin updates give the illusion that Google is making big changes in the digital realm, but in reality these updates are just part of a larger trend. Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, and the increasing popularity of handheld devices have changed the way people find, share, and discuss information. To stay relevant, businesses need to publish interesting content regularly and share it through social media. By doing so, the same businesses will also find that Google’s new rules for SEO will be met naturally. And, that is exactly the goal.

Not necessarily. SEO should be used as a way to enhance the already great content of an already great brand. Keyword research and analytics will still improve the quality of a site if used naturally and efficiently. But, backlinks must occur naturally. The thought process is this: if a website caters to its audience, relevant keywords and backlinks will crop up naturally and webmasters don’t have to do a thing. People will share useful or interesting content with their friends and followers. With Google’s new updates, this organic interaction trump even the best laid out marketing plans. One of the best ways for a business to regularly release shareable content is through a blog. When done right, blogging is a great way to create content and encourage engagement. Share each new article on relevant social media platforms for maximum impact.

To address social media’s obvious impact on the world, Google’s updates look for likes, shares and engagement—especially on Google+ because, well, it belongs to Google. Regardless of the platform, branding should be consistent throughout a company’s online presence to give the target audience a reliable image with which to associate. As with traditional websites, social media pages should be geared at providing the target audience with a memorable experience. This goes beyond branding and delves into the murky terrain of engagement. Social media has lowered the barriers between businesses and their target audience. Now, engagement is important to building brand trust. A successful brand embraces this shift by giving followers not just great content but the ability to communicate directly with the company.

What that means for you:

Are the Panda and Penguin updates perfect? Unfortunately, no. There has been some collateral damage to legitimate sites and negative SEO practices have become easier.

Competitor can more easily employ shady backlinking schemes for your website, effectively decreasing its value. Your original content is also at risk of being copied and having the time stamp changed, making your site look like the copy cat. The best way to minimize the impact is to be proactive. Set up a Google alert for your website and develop your authority through Google Authorship. Once you find foul play, there are legitimate ways to deal with it. Google encourages anyone affected by backlinking sabotage to use their disavow tool.

Photo Courtesy of Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS

The new SEO is human engagement. Businesses should ask themselves, “What interests our audience?” Answering that question through blogging, engaging in social media, and creating an easy-to navigate website are key. Hire a writer, hire a designer, hire a social media coordinator, and make sure each knows your industry. Once upon a time customer service and interaction were reserved for in person, phone and even email conversations. Today, these conversations can happen anywhere in the digital sphere. Google’s Panda and Penguin updates just support these modern trends.

It’s been a warm summer and things are hot over here at STARMEN. Right on the heels of the Horizon Awards, we cleaned up with some serious hardware in the 19th annual Communicator Awards! The competition receives entries from both small and large agencies and creative firms from all over the globe. Self touted as the “the largest and most competitive awards program honoring creative excellence among communications professionals,” the Communicator Awards received over 6,000 entries this year. Winners were chosen based on quality of the entry, regardless of company or agency size and project budget.

The competition is overseen and judged by the International Academy of Visual Arts, an exclusive organization comprised of 600+ executives from marketing, advertising and media firms. IAVA members include professionals from Conde Nast, Coach, Disney, MTV Networks, Sotheby's Institute of Art, Time, Inc, Victoria's Secret, Wired, and Yahoo. Another detail about the awards competition that caught our eye was the fact that the trophies are made by RS Owens, the company that produces the Oscar and Emmy awards.

We were also psyched to see our integrated design efforts score some recognition. We won silver trophies for corporate identity, in the logo and package design categories, as well as brochure design. Creatively designed touchpoints like packaging and brochures help make brands more memorable, and it’s great that both our interactive and traditional branding efforts earned a spot on our growing list of award-winning achievements.

Read more to see the winners!

It’s been a warm summer and things are hot over here at STARMEN. Right on the heels of the Horizon Awards, we cleaned up with some serious hardware in the 19th annual Communicator Awards! The competition receives entries from both small and large agencies and creative firms from all over the globe. Self touted as the “the largest and most competitive awards program honoring creative excellence among communications professionals,” the Communicator Awards received over 6,000 entries this year. Winners were chosen based on quality of the entry, regardless of company or agency size and project budget.

The competition is overseen and judged by the International Academy of Visual Arts, an exclusive organization comprised of 600+ executives from marketing, advertising and media firms. IAVA members include professionals from Conde Nast, Coach, Disney, MTV Networks, Sotheby's Institute of Art, Time, Inc, Victoria's Secret, Wired, and Yahoo. Another detail about the awards competition that caught our eye was the fact that the trophies are made by RS Owens, the company that produces the Oscar and Emmy awards.

We were also psyched to see our integrated design efforts score some recognition. We won silver trophies for corporate identity, in the logo and package design categories, as well as brochure design. Creatively designed touchpoints like packaging and brochures help make brands more memorable, and it’s great that both our interactive and traditional branding efforts earned a spot on our growing list of award-winning achievements.

Check out the winners!

• Chadburry - Gold Winner

Chadbury is a European-based fashion designer and manufacturer of handcrafted menswear and won in the Fashion Websites category. (click to view website)

• 1999 Avenue of the Stars - Silver Winner

1999 boasts an exclusive real estate hotspot in Century City and took home a win for Real Estate Websites.(click to view website)

• Esmond Natural - Silver Winner

Esmond Natural embraces an “East meets West” approach to their nutritional supplements, and won for Package Design in the Corporate Identity Print category. (click to view website)

• J/P Haitian Relief Organization - Silver Winner

Founded by Sean Penn, J/P HRO provides relief and emergency services in Haiti and won for Charitable Organization/ Non-profit Websites. (click to view website)

• Juel Park - Silver Winner

Juel Park is a renowned designer of haute couture lingerie, catering to A-list celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, and won for Visual Appeal Websites. (click to view website)

• LA Banquets - Silver Winner

LA Banquets is a premiere banqueting destination in Los Angeles and won for Brochure Design in the Corporate Identity Print category. (click to view website)

• Minus Zero - Silver Winner

Minus Zero offers corporate leadership and training to senior executives and won for Logo Design in the Corporate Identity Print category. (click to view website)

After winding down an exciting 2012 with 12 trophies from the W3 Awards and Davey Awards, we are gearing up for summer on a bright note. We took home 4 wins from the 11th annual Horizon Interactive Awards! The international competition was created to recognize excellence in the interactive media field. This year, there was some tough competition, as the Horizon Awards received thousands of submissions from nearly all 50 states and 25 countries.

We’re particularly thrilled about this recognition, not just because the statuettes are shiny and handsome, but because this competition embraces a unique approach to judging. The panelists aren’t just design experts — they’re our peers, other digital media professionals, with varying skillsets and capabilities. In addition to an end-user panel, the judging crew included Creative Directors Chris Nation of Hitcents and Flavio Masson of 10012.com. That meant the designs couldn’t just look nice, they had to function well and with purpose. Here at STARMEN, we always consider functionality during the creation process. Aesthetics are meaningless unless they offer a creative and strategic solution.

Keep reading to see the winners...

After winding down an exciting 2012 with 12 trophies from the W3 Awards and Davey Awards, we are gearing up for summer on a bright note. We took home 4 wins from the 11th annual Horizon Interactive Awards! The international competition was created to recognize excellence in the interactive media field. This year, there was some tough competition, as the Horizon Awards received thousands of submissions from nearly all 50 states and 25 countries.

We’re particularly thrilled about this recognition, not just because the statuettes are shiny and handsome, but because this competition embraces a unique approach to judging. The panelists aren’t just design experts — they’re our peers, other digital media professionals, with varying skillsets and capabilities. In addition to an end-user panel, the judging crew included Creative Directors Chris Nation of Hitcents and Flavio Masson of 10012.com. That meant the designs couldn’t just look nice, they had to function well and with purpose. Here at STARMEN, we always consider functionality during the creation process. Aesthetics are meaningless unless they offer a creative and strategic solution.

J/P Haitian Relief Organization proves relief and emergency services in Haiti. Following the catastrophic earthquake in 2010, J/P HRO immediately stepped in with rescue efforts. In anticipation of the 2 year anniversary, J/P HRO partnered with us to launch a completely redesigned website. We focused on a new design and strategy for a web experience that would visually communicate the mission of the organization through film & video.

John Foley provides individual and corporate leadership training. Best known for their inspirational Keynotes, the company has worked with some of the biggest brands worldwide. We are grateful to be a part of John's 'Glad To Be Here' team- the experience challenged us to maximize our performance. The website gives readers a taste of what John’s incredible presentations can offer.

Our Creative Director Anthony Wiktor designed an alternative movie poster for Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. He also designed a campaign around his creative concept which was quite a contrast from the actual marketing campaign. "I wanted to use a darker tone to create a more dramatic visual that matched the feel of the film," says Anthony. The poster is now featured on the Lincoln movie website.

We were also honored with a Gold Award for our own website in the Self Promotional Website category.

STARMEN's award-winning Creative Director, Anthony Wiktor, is featured as an 'industry expert' in Web Designer Magazine’s Hot 100 issue (#205), which is currently on newsstands this month. Anthony is featured alongside industry giants such as Eric Meyer, Andy Budd, and Patrick Van Kann. The article features experts chiming in on 2013′s hottest web trends, tools and talent.

Anthony shared his thoughts and insights on which web design tools and trends to look for in 2013, including an awesome boilerplate for responsive, mobile-friendly framework called, Skeleton and the emerging popularity of 'parallax' design.

About Web Designer Magazine

Web Designer is the flagship publication for international web creatives, offering expert project-based tutorials across modern disciplines such as HTML, CSS, jQuery, Flash, Photoshop, WordPress blogging and mobile apps. Accessible to hobbyists and professionals of all skill levels, the content is constantly informed by agency profiles, breaking stories and cutting-edge trends. Each issue features a CD packed with invaluable design resources and project files for the tutorials in the magazine. Give your latest website the perfect start with the ultimate design mag for the web professional.

STARMEN's award-winning Creative Director, Anthony Wiktor, is featured as an 'industry expert' in Web Designer Magazine’s Hot 100 issue (#205), which is currently on newsstands this month. Anthony is featured alongside industry giants such as Eric Meyer, Andy Budd, and Patrick Van Kann. The article features experts chiming in on 2013′s hottest web trends, tools and talent.

Anthony shared his thoughts and insights on which web design tools and trends to look for in 2013, including an awesome boilerplate for responsive, mobile-friendly framework called, Skeleton and the emerging popularity of'parallax' design.

About Web Designer Magazine

Web Designer is the flagship publication for international web creatives, offering expert project-based tutorials across modern disciplines such as HTML, CSS, jQuery, Flash, Photoshop, WordPress blogging and mobile apps. Accessible to hobbyists and professionals of all skill levels, the content is constantly informed by agency profiles, breaking stories and cutting-edge trends. Each issue features a CD packed with invaluable design resources and project files for the tutorials in the magazine. Give your latest website the perfect start with the ultimate design mag for the web professional.

What an honor! We're excited to share that we've taken home 2 Gold Awards and 4 Silver Awards from the 7th Annual W3 Award Competition!

Check out the winners inside!

About the W3 Awards

We're thrilled to share that we've been awarded by the International Academy of the Visual Arts with 2 Gold Awards and 4 Silver Awards at the 7th Annual W3 Awards!

This year, W3 received over 3,000 entries from top companies and agencies worldwide and the quality of work was outstanding. The W3 AWARDS honors outstanding websites, web marketing, web video and mobile apps created by some of the best interactive agencies, designers, and creators worldwide. Being selected a W3 Winner is a tremendous achievement.

Chadburry makes finely crafted, interesting and unique menswear. The Swedish brand has a strong connection with the classical ideologies of precision tailoring, while also adopting a very modern view on texture, colour and character. The fabrics are hand selected and manufactured in Europe.

'Silver' honoree: Best Charitable/Non-Profit Website and Best Homepage Design

About JP/HRO

J/P Haitian Relief Organization is dedicated to saving lives and bringing sustainable programs to the Haitian people quickly and effectively. Following the devastating earthquake of 2010 J/P HRO began working immediately on the ground to make an impact in Haiti. J/P HRO works with both government and non-governmental agencies to deliver immediate results where the need is greatest.

An event space company that expands your perception of what is possible! Collectively, L.A. Banquets staff has over 50 years of industry experience in every aspect of selecting event spaces, event planning and banqueting. L.A. Banquets is a brand committed to creative excellence and taking a unique and fresh perspective to each and every event. Their most important focus is on “Your Day, Your Vision” and blending ideas with experience, makes for truly special, engaging and entertaining affairs.

Being selected a W3 Winner is a tremendous achievement and proves that this work represents their high level of excellence.

The sold-out Professional Series talk, ‘The Importance of Studio Culture & Identity,’ was held at Continuum’s work-space in Venice Beach. Bringing together Armen David, Braven Greenelsh, Candice Brokeshire, and Michael Stinson, and moderated by Eduardo Braniff, CEO of Imagination the Americas.

Continue below to see photos from the event!

The sold-out Professional Series talk, ‘The Importance of Studio Culture & Identity,’ was held at Continuum’s work-space in Venice Beach. Bringing together Armen David, Braven Greenelsh, Candice Brokeshire, and Michael Stinson, and moderated by Eduardo Braniff, CEO of Imagination the Americas.

Armen defined his studio's culture as "a group of like-minded individuals that share unique qualities and purpose". He believes that culture is not possible without thought leadership -- "culture starts with a well-defined platform -- mission, vision and values are essential to defining culture that produces long-term advantage and sustainability". He also believes that culture is dynamic and must be embraced, not managed.

The Professional Series is a program of conversations about today's business of design. Professionals and entrepreneurs from a range of design enterprises will gather to discuss how each are growing their businesses through financial modeling, business development, recruitment and retention, innovation practices and, above all, great design.

We were excited to be a part of DISH International's social media initiative by developing and launching a series of branded YouTube channels to target their long list of language communities. The channel includes a custom video slider, drop down menus and custom banner feature. DISH Filipino, the first of DISH International's channels we worked on can be seen here live on YouTube.

Click below to see our design for DISH International...

We were excited to be a part of DISH International's social media initiative by developing and launching a series of branded YouTube channels to target their long list of language communities. The channel includes a custom video slider, drop down menus and custom banner feature. DISH Filipino, the first of DISH International's channels we worked on can be seen here live on YouTube.

Creating a Desitination on YouTube

Brand Channels allow marketers to create a brandable and customized interface on YouTube where they can connect and create persistent relationships with their customers. Brand Channels act as a distribution outlet for video content and as a destination for users to engage with your brand. The design of your channel page should reflect your brand identity.

As you'll see in the case of DISH International, we customized the channel theme and design to reflect the brand that has been established on the DISH Filipino TV website. Though the 'art of branding' is critical to your channel's visual presence, the success of your channel is largely dependent on the content that you upload.

The inevitable as arrived... and with it, an end of an era too. As Apple's creative visionary, Steve Jobs steps down as "leader" a sense of loss is felt throughout the 'tech' world and more importantly the business world. The man who has pioneered so much innovation and ideation that fundamentally changed the way we live, has also been credited with rising a struggling computer company from near bankruptcy to become the world's most valuable company. Now it has come to end, and for that... we can't say anything more than Thank You.

Steve himself published the following letter:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

The inevitable as arrived... and with it, an end of an era too. As Apple's creative visionary, Steve Jobs steps down as "leader" a sense of loss is felt throughout the 'tech' world and more importantly the business world. The man who has pioneered so much innovation and ideation that fundamentally changed the way we live, has also been credited with rising a struggling computer company from near bankruptcy to become the world's most valuable company. Now it has come to end, and for that... we can't say anything more than Thank You.

Steve himself published the following letter:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Ad Age confirms that TIME Magazine will continue tradition and run a special edition of its iconic 'X' cover, marking the demise of Osama bin Laden.(illustration by Tim O'Brien)

Time magazine has rushed together a special Osama bin Laden death issue that’s set to hit newsstands on Thursday. The symbolic red X has been used to denote deaths of past leaders like Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein on previous issues. Time.com

As news spreads, social and traditional media unite. A look at how New Media and Old Media are brainstorming inventive ways to package together breaking news information about bin Laden. AdAge.com

Ad Age confirms that TIME Magazine will continue tradition and run a special edition of its iconic 'X' cover, marking the demise of Osama bin Laden.(illustration by Tim O'Brien)

Time magazine has rushed together a special Osama bin Laden death issue that’s set to hit newsstands on Thursday. The symbolic red X has been used to denote deaths of past leaders like Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein on previous issues. Time.com

As news spreads, social and traditional media unite. A look at how New Media and Old Media are brainstorming inventive ways to package together breaking news information about bin Laden. AdAge.com

We're making the most out of Facebook and sharing the experience with you! Check out our new Facebook page and see how we've made it easy to engage with us by using custom applications that allow us to connect with our friends, showcase our talents, and share our thoughts in more ways than you can imagine.

We're making the most out of Facebook and sharing the experience with you! Check out our new Facebook page and see how we've made it easy to engage with us by using custom applications that allow us to connect with our friends, showcase our talents, and share our thoughts in more ways than you can imagine.

A Recycling Revolution- All Naked Juice Flavors Now Available In New reNEWabottle® Packaging

Naked Juice initially unveiled the reNEWabottle in 2009 for its 32-oz. bottles—the first nationally distributed beverage to do so. The reNEWabottle, also known as rPET (renewable polyethylene terephthalate),is made of 100% post-consumer recycled content. These PET bottles are plastic coded #1, which is easily recycled and clear—showing off the vibrant juice inside. This seems to be the new responsible trend in design which other brands have been incorporating into their packaging.

The transition to the reNEWabottle helps Naked Juice to reduce its overall carbon footprint and will save more than 12,000 cubic meters of space in landfills. Using recycled bottles instead of virgin PET will also reduce the bottle’s greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent, the equivalent of saving more than 500,000 gallons of gas a year.

Every Bottle Counts

1 MILLION

Pounds per year, reducing virgin plastic consumption

8,192 BARRELS

Oil saved per year (equivalent of taking 497 cars off of the road)

When Naked Juice finishes transitioning its entire line, virgin plastic consumption will be reduced by 8.1 million pounds per year, saving 57,000 barrels of oil every year—the equivalent of taking 3,460 cars off of the road.

A Recycling Revolution- All Naked Juice Flavors Now Available In New reNEWabottle® Packaging

Naked Juice initially unveiled the reNEWabottle in 2009 for its 32-oz. bottles—the first nationally distributed beverage to do so. The reNEWabottle, also known as rPET (renewable polyethylene terephthalate),is made of 100% post-consumer recycled content. These PET bottles are plastic coded #1, which is easily recycled and clear—showing off the vibrant juice inside. This seems to be the new responsible trend in design which other brands have been incorporating into their packaging.

The transition to the reNEWabottle helps Naked Juice to reduce its overall carbon footprint and will save more than 12,000 cubic meters of space in landfills. Using recycled bottles instead of virgin PET will also reduce the bottle’s greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent, the equivalent of saving more than 500,000 gallons of gas a year.

Every Bottle Counts

1 MILLION

Pounds per year, reducing virgin plastic consumption

8,192 BARRELS

Oil saved per year (equivalent of taking 497 cars off of the road)

When Naked Juice finishes transitioning its entire line, virgin plastic consumption will be reduced by 8.1 million pounds per year, saving 57,000 barrels of oil every year—the equivalent of taking 3,460 cars off of the road.

Let it be known, I'm not one to jump on 'bandwagons', whether it's politics, celebrity gossip, sports, or even in business. But I'm all aboard the latest bandwagon traveling along Gap's crossroads to logo disaster. It's widely been referred to as the 'Gapgate' controversy, a questionable attempt by the company at designing a new logo and an even more tasteless approach at trying to market it. There has been way too much recent attention around the new Gap logo that I actually feel comfortable speaking my mind about it because unlike Gap's story, there's a happy ending here. Yes, keep reading and you'll see I offer a solution to this visual problem.

Before I critique the logo, I want to point out that one of my first jobs was working at the Gap and working in such a corporate environment with such good control over its brand propelled me into marketing and design. While working as an Old Navy and Gap associate I particularly became a fan of how Gap was able to engage and sustain a 'loyal audience' by constantly staying fresh in all aspects of their brand (fashion, marketing, advertising, etc.) Unfortunately this hasn't been the case over the past few years, revenue at Gap stores (including Old Navy and Banana Republic) have been declining (-8% in 2009). Pinpointing the problem by blaming 'The Economy' would be foolish. The Gap has a bigger problem, and it's not their logo... it's their brand.

Louise Callagy, a Gap spokeswoman, explained the new logo was intended to be the latest "evolution" for the brand and added that this was in the works for the last two years. Callagy explains "[the new logo] is more contemporary and current and honors the heritage of the Gap brand, but takes the blue box forward." Ehh... I don't think so... I'm sorry maybe back in 1965 but not today, there's absolutely nothing new about using the typeface Helvetica, just ask Eric Spiekermann. Simply typing Helvetica font over the former iconic blue box with a default gradient to offset the contrast of the black and blue is not the way to "take the brand forward" nor "honor the heritage".

We have a solution...

We at STARMEN came up with a relatively realistic solution for Gap. In honor of this 'heritage' Gap so greatly expresses, we found it easy to reflect on the first Gap logo and store back in 1969 and found a new way of embracing Gap's original essence with a more contemporary approach, something with similar mainstream flexibility as seen in MTV's new logo redesign. Rather than just an 'add-on' approach, this logo becomes more 'integrated' with the brand campaign, allowing the Gap to align its brand initiatives with its loyal customers. Rather than simply placing the retro typeface proportionally in the center of the iconic square shape, we more dramatically enlarged it to bleed over the edges. The clean, bold and organic lowercase font gives Gap a fresh new energy that's friendly and inviting. Our approach gives the logo opportunity to fuse the distinctive Gap imagery and the square shape, showing the flexibility of the new branding. So, what do you think of our alternative? More importantly, what do you think of Gap's perspective? We want to hear your thoughts... and we'd love to hear from you Gap!

Also stayed tuned to our blog later in the week, to hear what I think about another Helvetica logo redesign nightmare another popular company is trying...

UPDATE: By no means, are we saying that the above solution, is 'the solution'... we all understand that there is a deeper problem with Gap, and it's not just their logo, but rather their brand. However being neurotic creatives we couldn't help but offer our version of what we think their identity could be. Thanks for all the feedback, we hope you this will be a case study for brands to come!

As most of you know by now, Gap pulled the logo just as quickly as it put it up (overnight). There probably won't be much long-term damage to the brand, but we all hope that Gap will know how to approach the whole brand identity redesign, more hollistically, focusing on the brand itself and not just the logo.

Let it be known, I'm not one to jump on 'bandwagons', whether it's politics, celebrity gossip, sports, or even in business. But I'm all aboard the latest bandwagon traveling along Gap's crossroads to logo disaster. It's widely been referred to as the 'Gapgate' controversy, a questionable attempt by the company at designing a new logo and an even more tasteless approach at trying to market it. There has been way too much recent attention around the new Gap logo that I actually feel comfortable speaking my mind about it because unlike Gap's story, there's a happy ending here. Yes, keep reading and you'll see I offer a solution to this visual problem.

Before I critique the logo, I want to point out that one of my first jobs was working at the Gap and working in such a corporate environment with such good control over its brand propelled me into marketing and design. While working as an Old Navy and Gap associate I particularly became a fan of how Gap was able to engage and sustain a 'loyal audience' by constantly staying fresh in all aspects of their brand (fashion, marketing, advertising, etc.) Unfortunately this hasn't been the case over the past few years, revenue at Gap stores (including Old Navy and Banana Republic) have been declining (-8% in 2009). Pinpointing the problem by blaming 'The Economy' would be foolish. The Gap has a bigger problem, and it's not their logo... it's their brand.

Louise Callagy, a Gap spokeswoman, explained the new logo was intended to be the latest "evolution" for the brand and added that this was in the works for the last two years. Callagy explains "[the new logo] is more contemporary and current and honors the heritage of the Gap brand, but takes the blue box forward." Ehh... I don't think so... I'm sorry maybe back in 1965 but not today, there's absolutely nothing new about using the typeface Helvetica, just ask Eric Spiekermann. Simply typing Helvetica font over the former iconic blue box with a default gradient to offset the contrast of the black and blue is not the way to "take the brand forward" nor "honor the heritage".

We have a solution...

We at STARMEN came up with a relatively realistic solution for Gap. In honor of this 'heritage' Gap so greatly expresses, we found it easy to reflect on the first Gap logo and store back in 1969 and found a new way of embracing Gap's original essence with a more contemporary approach, something with similar mainstream flexibility as seen in MTV's new logo redesign. Rather than just an 'add-on' approach, this logo becomes more 'integrated' with the brand campaign, allowing the Gap to align its brand initiatives with its loyal customers. Rather than simply placing the retro typeface proportionally in the center of the iconic square shape, we more dramatically enlarged it to bleed over the edges. The clean, bold and organic lowercase font gives Gap a fresh new energy that's friendly and inviting. Our approach gives the logo opportunity to fuse the distinctive Gap imagery and the square shape, showing the flexibility of the new branding. So, what do you think of our alternative? More importantly, what do you think of Gap's perspective? We want to hear your thoughts... and we'd love to hear from you Gap!

Also stayed tuned to our blog later in the week, to hear what I think about another Helvetica logo redesign nightmare another popular company is trying...

UPDATE: By no means, are we saying that the above solution, is 'the solution'... we all understand that there is a deeper problem with Gap, and it's not just their logo, but rather their brand. However being neurotic creatives we couldn't help but offer our version of what we think their identity could be. Thanks for all the feedback, we hope you this will be a case study for brands to come!

As most of you know by now, Gap pulled the logo just as quickly as it put it up (overnight). There probably won't be much long-term damage to the brand, but we all hope that Gap will know how to approach the whole brand identity redesign, more hollistically, focusing on the brand itself and not just the logo.

Check out the above picture from Twitter's Creative Director Doug Bowman, found on Twitter’s Flickr page. According to the caption: “To anyone curious about #NewTwitter proportions, know that we didn’t leave those ratios to chance. This, of course, only applies to the narrowest version of the UI. If your browser window is wider, your details pane will expand to provide greater utility, throwing off these proportions. But the narrowest width shows where we started, ratio-wise."

Personally, I think it's a much needed improvement. The new design takes the previous singular microblog layout to a whole new user-friendly multi-column UI giving tweeties a webpage similar to other social networks. As Mashable's Jennifer Van Grove pointed out, "The new Twitter is essentially a full-featured desktop application minus the download." Does this mean goodbye for popular desktop clients such as TweetDeck and Seesmic? What do you think of the new Twitter design?

Check out the above picture from Twitter's Creative Director Doug Bowman, found on Twitter’s Flickr page. According to the caption: “To anyone curious about #NewTwitter proportions, know that we didn’t leave those ratios to chance. This, of course, only applies to the narrowest version of the UI. If your browser window is wider, your details pane will expand to provide greater utility, throwing off these proportions. But the narrowest width shows where we started, ratio-wise."

Personally, I think it's a much needed improvement. The new design takes the previous singular microblog layout to a whole new user-friendly multi-column UI giving tweeties a webpage similar to other social networks. As Mashable's Jennifer Van Grove pointed out, "The new Twitter is essentially a full-featured desktop application minus the download." Does this mean goodbye for popular desktop clients such as TweetDeck and Seesmic? What do you think of the new Twitter design?

When the official logo of the 2012 London Olympics was released three years ago, the odd puzzle-piece design was the object of so much scorn that organizers were desperate to avoid similar criticism when they unveiled the mascots for the Games on Wednesday. With the introduction of Wenlock and Mandeville (above), London 2012 organizers realized their goal. The criticism of the mascots won't be similar to the complaints about the logo. No, they'll be much, much worse. London went for a complicated design that seems a bit uninspired and fails to identify itself to the global community with its host city, culture, history and people. See if makes sense to you...

Check out the short film which details the weird origins of Wenlock and Mandeville:

Wenlock is named after Much Wenlock, a village in Shropshire which held an event in the 19th century which inspired the modern Games. Mandeville is named after the hospital at which the Paralympic Games were founded. Though both sound like Tolkein characters, the names are quite good and are the only thing that makes the mascots distinctly British.

When the official logo of the 2012 London Olympics was released three years ago, the odd puzzle-piece design was the object of so much scorn that organizers were desperate to avoid similar criticism when they unveiled the mascots for the Games on Wednesday. With the introduction of Wenlock and Mandeville (above), London 2012 organizers realized their goal. The criticism of the mascots won't be similar to the complaints about the logo. No, they'll be much, much worse. London went for a complicated design that seems a bit uninspired and fails to identify itself to the global community with its host city, culture, history and people. See if makes sense to you...

Check out the short film which details the weird origins of Wenlock and Mandeville:

Wenlock is named after Much Wenlock, a village in Shropshire which held an event in the 19th century which inspired the modern Games. Mandeville is named after the hospital at which the Paralympic Games were founded. Though both sound like Tolkein characters, the names are quite good and are the only thing that makes the mascots distinctly British.

Google and Typekit both spilled some much-anticipated beans last week. First off, Google announced they are releasing high quality open source fonts in the Google Font Directory. Users will be able to download these open source fonts from http://code.google.com/p/googlefontdirectory/.They also went so far as to release Google Font API, which is an HTML based tool that enables you to implement any of these fonts into your site with a level of ease that we’ve been accustomed to from Google.

Wait. It gets better. Typekit and Google announced the release of a Web Font Loader to smooth out any issues when putting their web fonts to use.

The WebFont Loader puts the developer in control of how web fonts are handled by various browsers. The API fires JavaScript events at certain points, for example when the web font completes downloading. With these events, developers can control how web fonts behave on a site so that they download consistently across all browsers. In addition, developers can set the fallback font's size to more closely match the web font, so content doesn't reflow after loading. Furthermore, the WebFont Loader is designed to make it easy to switch between different providers of web fonts, including Google, Typekit, and others. The code is modular, and we expect to add modules for other major web font providers in coming weeks.

Google and Typekit both spilled some much-anticipated beans last week. First off, Google announced they are releasing high quality open source fonts in the Google Font Directory. Users will be able to download these open source fonts from http://code.google.com/p/googlefontdirectory/.They also went so far as to release Google Font API, which is an HTML based tool that enables you to implement any of these fonts into your site with a level of ease that we’ve been accustomed to from Google.

Wait. It gets better. Typekit and Google announced the release of a Web Font Loader to smooth out any issues when putting their web fonts to use.

The WebFont Loader puts the developer in control of how web fonts are handled by various browsers. The API fires JavaScript events at certain points, for example when the web font completes downloading. With these events, developers can control how web fonts behave on a site so that they download consistently across all browsers. In addition, developers can set the fallback font's size to more closely match the web font, so content doesn't reflow after loading. Furthermore, the WebFont Loader is designed to make it easy to switch between different providers of web fonts, including Google, Typekit, and others. The code is modular, and we expect to add modules for other major web font providers in coming weeks.

It's an iconic landmark we at STARMEN see everyday outside our window, the Hollywood Sign is truly one of the most recognizeable symbols of the California dream. A symbol that coined the phrase, "The land of opportunity". Well today, thanks to Hugh Hefner, Playboy magazine founder and iconic Hollywood figure himself, the peak has been saved!

The sign is Hollywood’s Eiffel Tower, this sign represents the dreams and aspirations of people around the world. Mr. Hefner said on Monday."

The landmark Hollywood sign will stand, unobscured, on scrub-covered slopes overlooking production studios and palm trees here, thanks to a $900,000 donation by Hugh Hefner in the ninth inning of a yearlong effort by conservationists to protect the hilltop around the sign from developers. The gift from Mr. Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, closed the gap in donations to meet the $12.5 million price that the Trust for Public Land had agreed to pay for the 138-acre parcel on the hilltop, called Cahuenga Peak. Million-dollar donations came from the Tiffany & Company Foundation and Aileen Getty, and hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised online and at bake sales and lemonade stands. The deadline was the end of this month.

The Chicago Connection

Ironically enough the Hollywood sign you see today exists because Hugh Hefner raised the money in 1978 to re-build it. The land was originally bought in 1940 by industrialist Howard Hughes and after Hughes died, his estate sold the property in 2002 to a group of Chicago investors who intended to use the land to build luxury residences. Hugh Hefner is originally from Chicago, which is also home to the Playboy headquarters.

It's an iconic landmark we at STARMEN see everyday outside our window, the Hollywood Sign is truly one of the most recognizeable symbols of the California dream. A symbol that coined the phrase, "The land of opportunity". Well today, thanks to Hugh Hefner, Playboy magazine founder and iconic Hollywood figure himself, the peak has been saved!

The sign is Hollywood’s Eiffel Tower, this sign represents the dreams and aspirations of people around the world. Mr. Hefner said on Monday."

The landmark Hollywood sign will stand, unobscured, on scrub-covered slopes overlooking production studios and palm trees here, thanks to a $900,000 donation by Hugh Hefner in the ninth inning of a yearlong effort by conservationists to protect the hilltop around the sign from developers. The gift from Mr. Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, closed the gap in donations to meet the $12.5 million price that the Trust for Public Land had agreed to pay for the 138-acre parcel on the hilltop, called Cahuenga Peak. Million-dollar donations came from the Tiffany & Company Foundation and Aileen Getty, and hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised online and at bake sales and lemonade stands. The deadline was the end of this month.

The Chicago Connection

Ironically enough the Hollywood sign you see today exists because Hugh Hefner raised the money in 1978 to re-build it. The land was originally bought in 1940 by industrialist Howard Hughes and after Hughes died, his estate sold the property in 2002 to a group of Chicago investors who intended to use the land to build luxury residences. Hugh Hefner is originally from Chicago, which is also home to the Playboy headquarters.

Is this real? Could it be, that one of Steve Jobs secret service agents was sleeping in Cupertino? How did this slip through the cracks? Easy. Disguise it with a Belkin 3GS case. Though it's unofficially unconfirmed, there's a strong chance this is the next iPhone. Gizmodo, a high-reputable online source and popular blog for all things technology, recently posted this discovery.

Is this real? Could it be, that one of Steve Jobs secret service agents was sleeping in Cupertino? How did this slip through the cracks? Easy. Disguise it with a Belkin 3GS case. Though it's unofficially unconfirmed, there's a strong chance this is the next iPhone. Gizmodo, a high-reputable online source and popular blog for all things technology, recently posted this discovery.

We've been invited to attend the online global launch event taking place right now. Check back with us a little later has we'll have all the latest, up-to-date inside features and news regarding your favorite Adobe programs... for now here's a sneak peek.

We've been invited to attend the online global launch event taking place right now. Check back with us a little later has we'll have all the latest, up-to-date inside features and news regarding your favorite Adobe programs... for now here's a sneak peek.

As part of a major re-branding effort, Hertz Corp. wants to woo cash-strapped consumers by urging them to "journey on" in a new campaign. For the first time in two decades, the company is updating its logo, uniforms, ads and 2,100 rental locations, as well as adding snazzy sports cars to its fleet. Omnicom Group's DDB is creating the campaign, which includes TV spots, print ads and online elements. Hertz also worked with Landor Associates to modernize the yellow and black Hertz logo.

Our goal in the logo redesign was to create a more contemporary corporate image that reflects our strong brand recognition, and is in touch with the mindset of current and future customers who appreciate superior service, personalized choices and value," commented Mike Senackerib, Hertz Chief Marketing Officer.

The new identity remains recognizeable by the strong use of its iconic yellow corporate color, but loses its familiar 'drop shadow' an element which made it look very dated. The new logo itself has been successfully updated to today's contemporary, friendly, and less-corporate consumer, but its going to take a lot more than aesthetic changes to re-energize the consumer and their views toward the Hertz brand.

As part of a major re-branding effort, Hertz Corp. wants to woo cash-strapped consumers by urging them to "journey on" in a new campaign. For the first time in two decades, the company is updating its logo, uniforms, ads and 2,100 rental locations, as well as adding snazzy sports cars to its fleet. Omnicom Group's DDB is creating the campaign, which includes TV spots, print ads and online elements. Hertz also worked with Landor Associates to modernize the yellow and black Hertz logo.

Our goal in the logo redesign was to create a more contemporary corporate image that reflects our strong brand recognition, and is in touch with the mindset of current and future customers who appreciate superior service, personalized choices and value," commented Mike Senackerib, Hertz Chief Marketing Officer.

The new identity remains recognizeable by the strong use of its iconic yellow corporate color, but loses its familiar 'drop shadow' an element which made it look very dated. The new logo itself has been successfully updated to today's contemporary, friendly, and less-corporate consumer, but its going to take a lot more than aesthetic changes to re-energize the consumer and their views toward the Hertz brand.

During the late 90s internet boom MSN rose to the top, to become a popular and admired resource for finding information and news online. They seemed to have it all right, a brand identity that was familiar with its parent company, (Microsoft) an appealing television ad campaign and a whole lot of money to support their place in the online community. Fast forward 10 years lately, and the site, logo, marketing, consumer connection, virtually everything about the brand had evaporated. MSN quickly fell behind the emerging internet giants Google and Yahoo! and never seemed to catch up. It wasn't money or colors, the MSN brand simply lost its connection with its audience, which seemed to be outgrowing the company. The explosion of social media is where MSN failed to connect its audience with their new favorite networking tools. So with a new logo, added features, being too little too late for MSN remains to be seen. If it's similar to what AOL did last year, it might just be. AOL if you haven't noticed (recently gave themselves a much needed and highly criticized brand identity refresh.)

Will the new MSN re-energize today's online users back to its brand?

Microsoft lags behind Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. in search share despite efforts to turn the money-losing online business around. The software maker is saying goodbye to MSN.com's blue background and its blocks of text links. Instead, giving the site more white space, fewer categories and more organized navigation. Hoping to bring back MSN.com to what it once was (way back in 1997), a leading online search engine and news source. Microsoft Corp. hopes to get more Web surfers using its Bing search engine. Microsoft says Bing searches from MSN jumped during tests of the new design.

One highlight we can point out is the new MSN has a top news section that features photos more prominently. The addition of the Bing 'branded' search box stands out more, and people can scan lists of hot discussion topics and local posts on Twitter. What we did not like was that this facelift seemed to be just a new facade for its homepage. We discovered some of the interior pages still look cluttered and resemble too closely to the old version, leading us to believe this was done fairly quickly. We also noticed the MSN logo takes a backseat on the 'sports' page where, "FOX SPORTS" seems to dominate the page. This seems to be the case with most of its pages beign external link, making it confusing for some users who may think they've left the site.

Final Thoughts...

MSN is definitely taking a step in the right direction, unfortunately we think it's too late in this rapidly evolving technology market. They just seem to be pressing the emergency button on their re-branding efforts rather than taking a strategic approach, especially coming off the heels of competitors AOL's new launch and Yahoo's new "My Yahoo" updates. Still MSN has a lot of work to do before they can successfully recapture their audience. They need to assess what the brand stands for and how they are different and how to they can effectively communicate it.

Overall we think the site has been greatly simplified but still needs work, and we wish they would have been more creative with the logo! The site doesn't seem finished or complete and lacks in areas where others are stronger. The logo looks as if it has taken taken a step back, with the butterfly closely resembling a more generic icon which doesn't have the right balance or proportions of colors and shape it predecessor so recognizeably had. Regarding the type treatment, underconsideration.com said it best...

The new one suffers from Bing syndrome: It wants to be cool and modern but it suffers from complete lack of typographic decency. In this case, the whole is not so bad, but the parts are."

Tell us what you think? About the web site? The logo?

Microsoft debuts MSN's new logo and site design

During the late 90s internet boom MSN rose to the top, to become a popular and admired resource for finding information and news online. They seemed to have it all right, a brand identity that was familiar with its parent company, (Microsoft) an appealing television ad campaign and a whole lot of money to support their place in the online community. Fast forward 10 years lately, and the site, logo, marketing, consumer connection, virtually everything about the brand had evaporated. MSN quickly fell behind the emerging internet giants Google and Yahoo! and never seemed to catch up. It wasn't money or colors, the MSN brand simply lost its connection with its audience, which seemed to be outgrowing the company. The explosion of social media is where MSN failed to connect its audience with their new favorite networking tools. So with a new logo, added features, being too little too late for MSN remains to be seen. If it's similar to what AOL did last year, it might just be. AOL if you haven't noticed (recently gave themselves a much needed and highly criticized brand identity refresh.)

Will the new MSN re-energize today's online users back to its brand?

Microsoft lags behind Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. in search share despite efforts to turn the money-losing online business around. The software maker is saying goodbye to MSN.com's blue background and its blocks of text links. Instead, giving the site more white space, fewer categories and more organized navigation. Hoping to bring back MSN.com to what it once was (way back in 1997), a leading online search engine and news source. Microsoft Corp. hopes to get more Web surfers using its Bing search engine. Microsoft says Bing searches from MSN jumped during tests of the new design.

One highlight we can point out is the new MSN has a top news section that features photos more prominently. The addition of the Bing 'branded' search box stands out more, and people can scan lists of hot discussion topics and local posts on Twitter. What we did not like was that this facelift seemed to be just a new facade for its homepage. We discovered some of the interior pages still look cluttered and resemble too closely to the old version, leading us to believe this was done fairly quickly. We also noticed the MSN logo takes a backseat on the 'sports' page where, "FOX SPORTS" seems to dominate the page. This seems to be the case with most of its pages beign external link, making it confusing for some users who may think they've left the site.

Final Thoughts...

MSN is definitely taking a step in the right direction, unfortunately we think it's too late in this rapidly evolving technology market. They just seem to be pressing the emergency button on their re-branding efforts rather than taking a strategic approach, especially coming off the heels of competitors AOL's new launch and Yahoo's new "My Yahoo" updates. Still MSN has a lot of work to do before they can successfully recapture their audience. They need to assess what the brand stands for and how they are different and how to they can effectively communicate it.

Overall we think the site has been greatly simplified but still needs work, and we wish they would have been more creative with the logo! The site doesn't seem finished or complete and lacks in areas where others are stronger. The logo looks as if it has taken taken a step back, with the butterfly closely resembling a more generic icon which doesn't have the right balance or proportions of colors and shape it predecessor so recognizeably had. Regarding the type treatment, underconsideration.com said it best...

The new one suffers from Bing syndrome: It wants to be cool and modern but it suffers from complete lack of typographic decency. In this case, the whole is not so bad, but the parts are."

We've always been a fan of this friendly and easy open source web browser since it's release in 2004. The latest version of Firefox introduces cutting-edge features, support for a wide variety of Web standards, and access to more than 6,000 free add-ons that allow users to customize their browser to their liking.

The World's Best Browser Just Got Better!

Firefox 3.6 is more than 20 percent faster than Firefox 3.5 and includes extensive under the hood work to improve performance for everyday Web tasks such as email, uploading photos, social networking, and more. It also delivers new features like customizable browser themes called Personas, a ground-breaking Plugin updater, improved JavaScript performance, and enhancements to familiar favorites like the Awesome Bar for a better, more personal Web experience.

We've always been a fan of this friendly and easy open source web browser since it's release in 2004. The latest version of Firefox introduces cutting-edge features, support for a wide variety of Web standards, and access to more than 6,000 free add-ons that allow users to customize their browser to their liking.

The World's Best Browser Just Got Better!

Firefox 3.6 is more than 20 percent faster than Firefox 3.5 and includes extensive under the hood work to improve performance for everyday Web tasks such as email, uploading photos, social networking, and more. It also delivers new features like customizable browser themes called Personas, a ground-breaking Plugin updater, improved JavaScript performance, and enhancements to familiar favorites like the Awesome Bar for a better, more personal Web experience.

Having a hard time paying off those credit card bills? Well the design of the credit card contracts, make it harder for you to get rid of your debt. If Alan Siegel had his way, more of us would think twice to use plastic to pay for that expensive dinner. It's all in the visual communication.

Alan Siegel, is a brand expert and one of the leading authorities on business communication. He recently gave a great talk at the TED conference in Long Beach. He's man who preaches simplification and specifically regarding legal documents for government and business.

Having a hard time paying off those credit card bills? Well the design of the credit card contracts, make it harder for you to get rid of your debt. If Alan Siegel had his way, more of us would think twice to use plastic to pay for that expensive dinner. It's all in the visual communication.

Alan Siegel, is a brand expert and one of the leading authorities on business communication. He recently gave a great talk at the TED conference in Long Beach. He's man who preaches simplification and specifically regarding legal documents for government and business.

In preparation for the April comeback of Tiger Woods to the Masters I want to take the time point out how a key brand mishap, caused a deep wound in his legacy, which could have been avoided. What Tiger really needed was not a caddy, or a publicist, but a brand manager.

This is not to jump on the media barrage of articles streaming the web related to his "incident" or "incidents" (excuse me), but merely I feel this is the perfect opportunity explain how the success and downfall of the Tiger Woods relates to branding 101. I can't help but make a point of how it a key fundamental of branding was neglected and how it using the Tiger Woods 'case study' as an example for all brands, products or services.

Breaking the "Core Values"

I couldn't help but hear a loud undertone in this recent exclusive interview on ESPN with Tiger Woods when Tiger said, "I gotten away from my core values" and let me tell you, we're not just talking about Buddhism here. More importantly he forgot his "core values" were what drove his successful "brand". Like it or not, Tiger Woods is brand, a 'personal brand' which focuses on the individual, in this case a 'performance brand'. The Tiger Woods 'performance brand' can be interpreted by his success as a dominant golfer (athlete), his role as charasmatic family man, and more so, a marketable global figure. Like all branding, the 'brand' must be authentic, trusted, and faithful. These are the 'core' traits of which all brands must personify, it's the core ideas or values that drive the organization.

Up until this past November, the Tiger Woods brand had outward consistency, power and most of all loyalty. But internally, he was about to collapse. As he said himself, he became removed from his "core values" as a person, husband, and father. We won't get into his embarrassing "transgressions" and the details of his pathetic saga but it's important to note that because Tiger had abandoned his core values and ideas is how he got himself into this mess in the first place. The same way many companies and other brands become victim of their own success and become unmanaged. As brand expert Wally Olins states in his Brand Handbook,

"There always comes a time, however, in a successful organization when the informal, intuitive, perhaps muddled, but shared vision or core idea has to uncovered or rediscovered; when it has to be recreated, formalized, clarified and made coherent".

The steps to recovery is what Tiger is doing right now, but is it too late? Has he permantly damaged his 'brand image'? Will he ever be able to win over the hearts and minds of his loyal fans and followers he once had? Theses are the challenges that make for a great case study and with a brand manager in place, he should be able to overcome his woes and ultimately regain brand success.

In preparation for the April comeback of Tiger Woods to the Masters I want to take the time point out how a key brand mishap, caused a deep wound in his legacy, which could have been avoided. What Tiger really needed was not a caddy, or a publicist, but a brand manager.

This is not to jump on the media barrage of articles streaming the web related to his "incident" or "incidents" (excuse me), but merely I feel this is the perfect opportunity explain how the success and downfall of the Tiger Woods relates to branding 101. I can't help but make a point of how it a key fundamental of branding was neglected and how it using the Tiger Woods 'case study' as an example for all brands, products or services.

Breaking the "Core Values"

I couldn't help but hear a loud undertone in this recent exclusive interview on ESPN with Tiger Woods when Tiger said, "I gotten away from my core values" and let me tell you, we're not just talking about Buddhism here. More importantly he forgot his "core values" were what drove his successful "brand". Like it or not, Tiger Woods is brand, a 'personal brand' which focuses on the individual, in this case a 'performance brand'. The Tiger Woods 'performance brand' can be interpreted by his success as a dominant golfer (athlete), his role as charasmatic family man, and more so, a marketable global figure. Like all branding, the 'brand' must be authentic, trusted, and faithful. These are the 'core' traits of which all brands must personify, it's the core ideas or values that drive the organization.

Up until this past November, the Tiger Woods brand had outward consistency, power and most of all loyalty. But internally, he was about to collapse. As he said himself, he became removed from his "core values" as a person, husband, and father. We won't get into his embarrassing "transgressions" and the details of his pathetic saga but it's important to note that because Tiger had abandoned his core values and ideas is how he got himself into this mess in the first place. The same way many companies and other brands become victim of their own success and become unmanaged. As brand expert Wally Olins states in his Brand Handbook,

"There always comes a time, however, in a successful organization when the informal, intuitive, perhaps muddled, but shared vision or core idea has to uncovered or rediscovered; when it has to be recreated, formalized, clarified and made coherent".

The steps to recovery is what Tiger is doing right now, but is it too late? Has he permantly damaged his 'brand image'? Will he ever be able to win over the hearts and minds of his loyal fans and followers he once had? Theses are the challenges that make for a great case study and with a brand manager in place, he should be able to overcome his woes and ultimately regain brand success.

During our daily industry readings, we came across this encouraging article by brand consultant Tom Hinkes, a contributor to adage.com. It was refreshing to hear from a well-respected and experienced brand marketer that great marketing requires a balance of strategy and creative. Currently, companies have been scaling back on creatively-led brand solutions and focusing more on "the numbers" approach.

More Data Is Not Better Data

Marketing departments used to be the creative engines powering successful corporations. Now they're overrun by number-crunching nerds. As a direct consequence, despite all the conspicuous focus on "change management," the way brands respond to change in the marketplace has deteriorated. A McKinsey Quarterly article several years ago argued that the key to "better branding" is to build brands "more scientifically." If managers would combine "forward-looking market segmentation" with structural-equation modeling, they could "build a better brand more efficiently." In short: more data, more regressions and more conjoint analysis mean the "brand crisis" is solved. But fluency with buzz words and expertise with spreadsheets do not guarantee brand-marketing competence.

We agree that there is a need for consumer research, but brand marketing is not a science, it's not driven solely by metrics or statistics. It requires analysis, discipline and detail. Even more, it requires emotion, vision and ideas. STARMEN shares this perspective. We manage and balance both successfully and have the marketing abilities and creative talents to do so.

During our daily industry readings, we came across this encouraging article by brand consultant Tom Hinkes, a contributor to adage.com. It was refreshing to hear from a well-respected and experienced brand marketer that great marketing requires a balance of strategy and creative. Currently, companies have been scaling back on creatively-led brand solutions and focusing more on "the numbers" approach.

More Data Is Not Better Data

Marketing departments used to be the creative engines powering successful corporations. Now they're overrun by number-crunching nerds. As a direct consequence, despite all the conspicuous focus on "change management," the way brands respond to change in the marketplace has deteriorated. A McKinsey Quarterly article several years ago argued that the key to "better branding" is to build brands "more scientifically." If managers would combine "forward-looking market segmentation" with structural-equation modeling, they could "build a better brand more efficiently." In short: more data, more regressions and more conjoint analysis mean the "brand crisis" is solved. But fluency with buzz words and expertise with spreadsheets do not guarantee brand-marketing competence.

We agree that there is a need for consumer research, but brand marketing is not a science, it's not driven solely by metrics or statistics. It requires analysis, discipline and detail. Even more, it requires emotion, vision and ideas. STARMEN shares this perspective. We manage and balance both successfully and have the marketing abilities and creative talents to do so.

Now you can get all the latest, up-to-the moment happenings from STARMEN and around the design world. No matter if it’s thirty seconds or 140 characters, we create ideas that don’t just talk, but get talked about.

Now you can get all the latest, up-to-the moment happenings from STARMEN and around the design world. No matter if it’s thirty seconds or 140 characters, we create ideas that don’t just talk, but get talked about.

As an award-winning creative agency specializing brand design, we are proud to announce the redesign of the STARMEN web site. But "redesign" doesn't really cover it. This more than a aesthetic adjustment or surface-level change. This is more of a "refresh" both internally and externally. The new starmenusa.com reflects our new ideas, new thinking, and new outlook for our clients, and their brands. For those of you familiar with us, you'll find a lot of new and exciting information, about us, the services we offer and see new design work!

Our LA headquarters is buzzing with excitement! This site has been a labor of love, created with synchronized hard work, absolute enthusiasm, and meticulous attention to how effective design can be. The new STARMEN believes happy users means happy business. One goal of ours that hasn't changed is this: We are here to produce solid, valuable results for you! Now, we just look even better!

As an award-winning creative agency specializing brand design, we are proud to announce the redesign of the STARMEN web site. But "redesign" doesn't really cover it. This more than a aesthetic adjustment or surface-level change. This is more of a "refresh" both internally and externally. The new starmenusa.com reflects our new ideas, new thinking, and new outlook for our clients, and their brands. For those of you familiar with us, you'll find a lot of new and exciting information, about us, the services we offer and see new design work!

Our LA headquarters is buzzing with excitement! This site has been a labor of love, created with synchronized hard work, absolute enthusiasm, and meticulous attention to how effective design can be. The new STARMEN believes happy users means happy business. One goal of ours that hasn't changed is this: We are here to produce solid, valuable results for you! Now, we just look even better!

In response to the devastating January 12th earthquake in Haiti, the team at STARMEN Design Group rallied to spread the word to support the American Red Cross’s relief efforts. Creating this support-site is our way of communicating to the web community that urgency is needed to assist those affected by this disaster; especially the thousands of abandoned children who are now without homes. The best way to provide immediate aid is through financial donations. Join us and show your support by donating to the Haitians during these tragic times. Be a part of the solution and provide help for the relief effort through the American Red Cross today!

In response to the devastating January 12th earthquake in Haiti, the team at STARMEN Design Group rallied to spread the word to support the American Red Cross’s relief efforts. Creating this support-site is our way of communicating to the web community that urgency is needed to assist those affected by this disaster; especially the thousands of abandoned children who are now without homes. The best way to provide immediate aid is through financial donations. Join us and show your support by donating to the Haitians during these tragic times. Be a part of the solution and provide help for the relief effort through the American Red Cross today!

Situated in the heart of Los Angeles, STARMEN separates itself from the plethora of design companies by remaining independent, creatively led, and modest enough in size to work closely with clients. The November issue of Runway Magazine explains just this! Runway Magazine called us ‘Hollywood’s Rising Stars,’ and illustrates how a boutique design agency has found great footing in the entertainment capital of the world!

Situated in the heart of Los Angeles, STARMEN separates itself from the plethora of design companies by remaining independent, creatively led, and modest enough in size to work closely with clients. The November issue of Runway Magazine explains just this! Runway Magazine called us ‘Hollywood’s Rising Stars,’ and illustrates how a boutique design agency has found great footing in the entertainment capital of the world!